Nothing to do with the US team, but some of this is neat:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1913303-french-freestyler-sean-garnier-makes-people-look-silly-with-sick-handles

1/8/2014 5:06:07 PM

Michael Bradley. MLS.

What. the. fuck.

1/8/2014 6:28:44 PM

Meh, I'd would have been more pissed about this 3 or 4 years ago.

1/8/2014 6:36:35 PM

Bradley in MLS won't ruin our WC

Just disappointed in his decision re: his career as an individual. He's spoken before about how much he loved Serie A growing up. He's there at a top club featuring regularly on decent wages in the prime of career. He had a chance to really be a special player in Europe, if not Roma, somewhere else at a good sized club and compete in Champions League.

Cool for him to get paid but damn, this sucks

1/8/2014 8:18:35 PM

In the long run its better to make the mls better

1/9/2014 1:17:13 AM

The worst part about playing soccer in Italy is that you live your life surrounded by Italians. I would come home too.

1/9/2014 9:20:13 AM

to live next to Canadians?

1/9/2014 9:21:23 AM

Serie A sucks.

That's the only league that I consciously avoid.

1/9/2014 9:23:11 AM

Quote :

"In the long run its better to make the mls better"

No shit.

In my opinion, paying one or two players on a team 6 mil+ doesn't make the league noticeably better. Makes more sense to spread that money around and raise the salary cap but whatever.

Getting players like Dempsey and Bradley are more important for raising the profile of the league and to attract better players but if the league doesn't adapt and raise the salary cap, they won't be able to take advantage of that.

[Edited on January 9, 2014 at 9:25 AM. Reason : .]

1/9/2014 9:23:43 AM

Risk vs. stability. MLS has consistently demonstrated they prefer stability when it concerns growth.

1/9/2014 5:18:05 PM

^ as they should. I desperately want the MLS to be the premier league in terms of overall talent, but they prefer the slow, steady growth route to avoid bankrupting themselves in the short term. Can't repeat what NASL did.

[Edited on January 9, 2014 at 6:22 PM. Reason : premier as in the best overall, not EPL]

1/9/2014 6:20:29 PM

^^ not sure if that's directed at me or not but I'm not advocating for the removal of the salary cap. It just needs to be raised considerably.

Beckham didn't change TV ratings significantly long-term and Dempsey hasn't either. I don't expect Bradley will be any different. The league needs to have an overall increase in the quality of play, aside from 3-4 stars. That's why you can't pay your non stars and bench players 30k and expect the league to be consistently entertaining and worth watching.

tl;dr - Paying 6 guys worth 1 mil/yr vs. Bradley 6.5/yr would make MLS a better league. With the rules in place now, this was Toronto's only option to get a good player in.

[Edited on January 9, 2014 at 6:47 PM. Reason : .]

1/9/2014 6:40:25 PM

^^ The MLS has a ridiculously long way to go before that ever happens. Honestly don't think it will ever happen. The money and the support just isn't there. Plus the Champions League is a big draw. Only the World Cup is better in terms of support and spectacle. In terms of quality the Champions League may very well be the best. No academy structure is a big hindrance. The NFL just has more of an appeal here and with the NCAA there is probably no way to establish an academy.

1/10/2014 10:50:21 AM

MLS teams have academies.

There are favorable salary cap considerations for "home-grown" players that have come up through respective teams' academies.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2013/07/01/In-Depth/Soccer-academies.aspx

[Edited on January 10, 2014 at 11:09 AM. Reason : FYI]

1/10/2014 10:56:39 AM

Don't underestimate the impact that Latin culture is having on the US and that soccer is becoming increasingly popular because of Fifa and the EPL. Plus you've got teams like Seattle that have massive support and a standard to push toward. I don't know whether MLS will ever be a top 5 league but reaching the quality of the Dutch or Russian leagues is possible. Bottom half of the EPL quality.

1/10/2014 12:43:40 PM

Quote :

"tl;dr - Paying 6 guys worth 1 mil/yr vs. Bradley 6.5/yr would make MLS a better league. With the rules in place now, this was Toronto's only option to get a good player in."

bradley is actually only worth 1m/yr (see his salary at Roma), they can just overpay the shit out of him because the DP rule is idiotic

1/10/2014 1:16:39 PM

I'm not saying Bradley is worth $6.5 mil, but he's certainly worth more than $1 mil in a world where Rooney makes $18 mil.

1/10/2014 1:26:04 PM

Of course, they have to overpay to get these guys to leave Europe.

1/10/2014 1:29:39 PM

I will be pretty happy if in the next 15 years the MLS reaches the level of the championship. They really do need to introduce a system of relegation and promotion though. I have watched 1 MLS game in 2013 and the quality was just dire.

[Edited on January 10, 2014 at 2:51 PM. Reason : .]

1/10/2014 2:50:42 PM

Any guesses on World Cup warm up friendlies? Have to play one in Tampa or Miami I think.

1/11/2014 3:41:54 PM

^ Would make sense but I haven't heard any updates.

Here's a leak for our home jersey...

1/11/2014 9:53:35 PM

I like it

1/11/2014 10:43:06 PM

US Soccer needs to update that damn shield. it looks so outdated.

1/11/2014 10:50:16 PM

They also need to pick a design and color scheme and just stick with it.

1/11/2014 10:54:59 PM

not a fan of the new jersey. although, I was in Europe during the last cup and everyone called the Americans "beauty queens" because the diagonal stripe looked like a pageant sash.

1/12/2014 1:09:24 AM

thats so fucking plane and shitty. How is it even a question.

1/12/2014 3:51:06 AM

Looks like a rugby shirt.

1/12/2014 10:27:15 AM

Quote :

"plane and shitty"

1/12/2014 10:34:36 AM

you didn't have to put the stripes (which i think are amazing and we played our best soccer ever in) but at least put SOMETHING on the jerseys. not these fucking heytheredelilah ass fruit of the loom shirts.



Could they not think of anything that represents our country? I guess they were going for the "america: the nation that no longer has creativity." reputation.

we are not germany. we can't let our play do all of the talking
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/05/0518_050518_redsports.html

[Edited on January 12, 2014 at 10:55 AM. Reason : please]

1/12/2014 10:53:22 AM

England have been wearing the "lucky red" since 1966 with no success.

I like the shirt, though I agree that the crest needs an update and they need to stick to one set of colors, preferably navy blue over royal.

1/12/2014 12:23:20 PM

Love those red stripes.

1/13/2014 12:05:48 AM

I like the red on the field too. Fits the USA and hoops are fairly unique in the international game. But I'm not going to buy it because I don't like wearing striped jerseys.

This is one of my favorite jerseys. I wish they'd update the white one like they did for the navy in 2006.

1/13/2014 8:17:49 AM

I always liked this one the most, personally. I agree that the shield needs to be updated.

1/13/2014 11:18:29 PM

Soccer hall of fame class of 2014.

http://www.ussoccer.com/news/federation-services/2014/02/140224-hof-inductees-rel.aspx

2/24/2014 9:39:14 PM

Game vs Ukraine could likely be moved to Cyprus. It'd be a smart move.

2/25/2014 10:55:09 PM

move it to sochi

2/26/2014 4:24:56 AM

[Edited on March 3, 2014 at 10:24 AM. Reason : M]

3/3/2014 10:23:46 AM

Gotta feel bad for Holden. So unlucky.

3/3/2014 4:42:46 PM

Clemsoning

3/3/2014 4:44:42 PM

crimea river

3/4/2014 2:01:09 AM

game's on. Onyewu is playing.

3/5/2014 1:57:15 PM

anyone got a good online stream?

3/5/2014 2:04:08 PM

Quote :

"game's on. Onyewu is playing. "

if that's what you call it. time for gooch to give it up.

3/5/2014 3:29:27 PM

yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyep

[Edited on March 5, 2014 at 3:35 PM. Reason : new kit is seriously garbage. ]

3/5/2014 3:35:26 PM

Brooks is pretty terrible.

3/5/2014 3:38:24 PM

^that as well

3/5/2014 3:40:56 PM

i would still feel good about our chances if we were in a normal group. advancing from our group will be as difficult as making the semifinal.

3/5/2014 7:38:12 PM

just bought my airline ticket...fly into Manaus and hopefully I can get a ticket to the US-Portugal game....soooo....w00t!

3/5/2014 11:59:51 PM

how much was that crazy ticket?

3/6/2014 1:04:02 AM

yeah if you have time i'd be cooler to save 1k flying into quito and taking a boat to manaus.

3/6/2014 1:21:21 AM